You may ask: Who isn’t specializing in Negronis these days? The bitter and sweet aperitif, traditionally an equal-parts combination of Campari, vermouth and gin, is having a moment among the craft-cocktail set. Exhibit A: Negroni Week, a 3-year-old celebration launched by Imbibe magazine, which this year featured the likes of Negroni ice cream from Humphry Slocombe and Negroni gelee with foie gras panna cotta from Dirty Habit.

But Contadina is not the bandwagon-jumping type, and Kevin Correnti, who owns the restaurant with his wife, Gina, has been Negroni-obsessed for years. “I was a poor college student, and I didn’t want other people drinking my drinks, so I started putting Campari in everything,” he recalls. “No one else would touch it.”

Although there’s only one Negroni on the menu (Campari, Cocchi vermouth, Beefeater; $10), Correnti has a seemingly endless roster of variants up his sleeve. Which makes him one of the best-kept cocktail secrets in San Francisco.

Utter the word “Negroni” and Correnti is likely to appear at your table, offering impassioned suggestions for versions of his favorite cocktail. He might first fix one with Cappelletti Americano (a Campari substitute), Carpano Antica and Beefeater, bursting with orange blossom, its bitterness resounding on the finish. Next, the Lady Hawk, which tops that Cappelletti concoction with Prosecco: Surprisingly, the sparkling wine didn’t add any discernible fizziness, but rounded the overall texture and added a distinct stone fruit flavor.

“My perfect Negroni right now,” Correnti says, “would be Antica, Big Gin from Seattle, and a mix of Cappelletti and Cynar,” the latter an artichoke-derived amaro. Strong in both alcohol and flavor, it’s not for everybody. But if you’re an amaro fan — or if you’re open to conversion — you may love it. And you may also love Correnti’s version that includes St. George’s Botanivore gin, Antica and the rhubarb liqueur Zucca, which has delicate floral aromas and tastes wonderfully earthy. (“Flowers just starting to decompose” was the tasting note of one of my companions.)

If you give Correnti carte blanche, you’ll experience various fruit bitters, an extensive cast of vermouths and rinses of cherry heering. The stealth hit of a recent visit was a Boulevardier — which swaps gin for whiskey — garnished with olives. Might sound gross, but it isn’t. The drink’s Rittenhouse Rye gives it a familiar whiskey-cocktail profile of sweet caramel and leather that gently cloaks the bitter and fruity elements. “It’s one of those perfect five-sense cocktails,” Correnti says. “A Boulevardier is already sweet, but here you get the salt from the olives, the bitter, the spice.”

Flavor harmony, experimentation, secret menus — if Correnti isn’t careful, someone might mistake him for a mixologist. But that’s not what he and Contadina are about. The priority, Gina says, is maintaining the same dishes and service and staff that have won the restaurant loyalty for 30 years. The rest is extra.

Via several worldwide semifinals, and with a last stop at the global finals held in Singapore in November, Cherry Heering’s 2015 Sling Award has finally landed in Sweden, firmly in the hands of winning bartender and native son Christoffer Johansson.

Johansson’s Chris Cross Bitter Sling took top honors at the 2015 Sling Awards, besting four runner-ups from around the world. Bartenders from China, Ireland, Australia and France competed against Johansson at the legendary Raffles Hotel in Singapore, where the world-famous Sling was first created.

“Cherry Heering is the backbone of any sling,” said Johansson following his victory.

While not a finalist in the competition, Shorrock was one of four bartenders in attendance whose establishments —in Shorrock’s case, Peppercrab at the Grand Hyatt in Dubai — raised the most money towards Panthera as part of the Sling Award’s “Here’s to the Tiger” campaign. Panthera is worldwide leader in wildcat conservation.

In addition to overall winner Johansson, the four finalists — all profiled below — included Hungie Fong of China, Richard Grimsey of Ireland, Mathias Aso of Australia, and Jeremy LaFrance of France.

“We’ve sipped quite a few Slings in our days, but this year’s contestants have really raised the bar for what the legendary Singapore Sling can be,” said Adéle Robberstad, CEO, Peter F. Heering. “The new Sling menus and the skill, craftsmanship and creativity that was poured into each Sling blew us away. Watch out – these 12 will be dictating tomorrow’s cocktail culture.”

Finalists and Panthera bartenders gathered at the amazing Raffles Hotel in Singapore for the competition. It was 1887 when the doors to the Raffles Hotel Singapore first opened. Since then, this luxury five star hotel has become an icon that epitomizes the romance of the Far East – an intoxicating blend of luxury, history and colonial design. Its classic architecture has been perfectly preserved and provides a stark but lively contrast against its modern-skyscraper neighbors. Among the most well-loved aspects is the Long Bar, where the famous Singapore Sling was created.

“Peter F Heering has dedicated an entire generation to make such an amazing product,” said Amanda Wan, a Panthera bar guest and bartender is residence at The Envoy in Hong Kong. “It can be found on the shelves of all the reputable bars.”

Here’s a look at the finalists from Cherry Heering’s 2015 Sling Award:

Also particpating in the 2015 Sling Award competition were representatives of four bars who raised the most money for Panthera:

In general news, Singapore, Sweden / by Joakim Persson / on October 4, 2015

Amazingly, a Swedish bartender has won the global competition Heering Sling Awards 2015 as the legendary Singapore Sling celebrates its 100th anniversary this year!

‘Heering’ is of course Peter F. Heering, which since 1818 has produced the world-famous liqueur Heering Cherry.

The competition consisted this year of two parts: One part was a cocktail competition where bartenders from all over the world got to send their two best interpretations of the Singapore Sling. The second part, called ‘Here’s to the tiger’, was a charity project where bars all over the world joined to raise funds in support of the world’s tigers.

The first part was settled on 22 September, with the Swede Christoffer Johansson, as the final overall winner. He works at the newly opened restaurant Pix Pintxos & Cocktails in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Christoffer will now, together with the other four final finalists and one representative each of the four bars that donated the most money to the Tigers, travel to the legendary Raffles Hotel in Singapore, where the original Singapore Sling first saw the light of day in 1915.

The Singapore Sling was the creation of bartender Ngiam Tong Boon in 1915, and since then not visit to the city has ever been complete without a stop at the fabled Long Bar to enjoy this classic cocktail.

The drink back then, as now, consisted of Cherry Heering cherry liqueur mixed with gin, orange liqueur, herbal liqueur, lime, pineapple, bitters and grenadine. Today, the drink itself is a million-dollar industry for the iconic hotel bar and it even has its own bar school to train new staff in creating this legendary drink.

The Singapore Sling has become more myth than cocktail. Despite being considered the de facto national drink of Singapore, its modern-day mix comes in so many forms.

Raffles-Hotel-Singapore-facadeIn September 2012 Raffles Hotel Singapore, named after Sir Stamford Raffles, founder of Singapore, celebrated 125 years since the hotel’s opening in 1887. The iconic cocktail creation was then celebrated along with the hotel. Long Bar then created a new champagne sling. The 1887 sling, with a base of the hotel’s limited-edition Billecart-Salmon Brut Réserve champagne, offers a subtle twist on the hotel’s traditional recipe. While the recipe for this intricate cocktail will be kept a closely guarded secret, its creator, Randolf Velasco, reveals that Gordons gin, cointreau and essence of orange, lemon and lime all contribute to the libation’s one-of-a-kind flavor.

The indulgent anniversary sling, was then offered exclusively at Raffles hotels worldwide, inviting guests to share in the nation’s great classic cocktail and in the spirit of local tradition, spark a debate over its real recipe.

Raffles, now spreading its wings all over the world, have sister hotels in Paris, Dubai, Cambodia, the Seychelles, Beijing and the Holy City of Makkah.

To celebrate SINGAPORE SLING’S 100TH ANNIVERSARY in 2015, Peter F. Heering invited bartenders from all over the world to create exciting versions of the legendary Singapore Sling.

“It’s a real honour to be part of such a prestigious competition. All the bartenders are incredibly talented and we had a hard time picking the five best Sling menus. I’m looking forward to see what these future cocktail gurus will accomplish.” – DAVID WONDRICH, Drinks Historian.

To compete in the 2015 Sling Award, each bartender presented a Sling menu consisting of three different Slings. There can only be one winner of the 2015 Sling Award, but the jury has selected 5 lucky bartenders to join us to Singapore and the legendary Raffles Hotel where the Singapore Sling was once born. These five bartenders will join us to Singapore and the legendary Raffles Hotel in November to show us their interpretations of the iconic Singapore Sling. The fabulous five will also have their Sling menus immortalized in the legendary Difford’s Guide.

JULIE REINER. Cocktail icon and founder of internationally top ranking bars Flatiron Lounge, Pegu Club and Clover Club. Clover Club has been listed in Drinks International’s “The World’s 50 Best Bars” two years in a row. Julie was Awarded “Best Bar Mentor” at Tales of the Cocktail 2014.

JOAQUÍN SIMÓ. Multi-awarded mixologist and owner of Pouring Ribbons. Joaquín has served as panelist at Tales of the Cocktail, the Manhattan Cocktail Classic, the Copenhagen Spirits & Cocktail Conference, Paris Cocktail Spirits and the Gourmet Latino Festival.

TOBY CECCHINI. Writer and bartender who graced Death & Company and Fort Defiance with his bartending skills before founding the widely acclaimed Long Island Bar in 2013. Toby has written Cosmopolitan: A Bartender’s Life as well as numerous articles for GQ, Food and Wine, Saveur and The New York Times.

ANDY SEYMOUR, our host, counts over twenty years experience in the bar, restaurant and hospitality industry, and has emerged as one of the leading educators and consultants on all matters of beverage. Through his company Liquid Productions, and as a partner in Beverage Alcohol Resource (BAR), Andy has devoted his energies to the understanding of today’s cocktail culture, to developing education and beverage programs and to creating events that bring that culture to an even greater audience.

PETER F. HEERING SLING AWARD 2015 PRESS RELEASE Country Name Bar/Restaurant/Signature cocktail 12345 Bar/Restaurant We’d also like to propose a toast to our global expert jury for the NYC finale: